More Penn State, Littering the Grand Canyon, and a Novel Made of "Quicksand"

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Now that The New York Times pay wall is live, you only get 20 free clicks a month. For those worried about hitting their limit, we're taking a look through the paper each morning to find the stories that can make your clicks count.

Top Stories: The National Park Service appears to have backtracked on a proposed ban on disposable water bottles at the Grand Canyon after Coca-Cola, a major donor, "registered its concerns." Despite the move by Silvio Berlusconi to step down, no one feels any better about Italy or the Euro debt crisis. And a look at Mike McQueary, an unknown factor in the Penn State scandal.

U.S.: Political pundits continue to search for meaning in the results of this week's election and ballot initiatives, like the defeated Ohio labor law.

Science: A few patients thought to be in a "vegetative" state have shown some signs of consciousness, giving some hope to those trying to reach loved ones thought to be brain dead. Russia desperately tries to save an expensive, unmanned mission to Mars, after a probe sent to the red planet failed to leave Earth's orbit.

Business: Larry Page is trying to clean house at Google, eliminating bloat and helping the company work through a "midlife crisis." Tomorrow is 11/11/11 giving marketers a very limited window to cash in on a novelty. Cheap solar panels could actually be the source of a new trade war between China and the U.S.

Books: A review of Haruki Murakami's latest epic, 1Q84, which Janet Maslin calls "quicksand" and a "nearly 1,000 uneventful pages" with "no overarching narrative idea." Ouch.

Food/Wine: A leftover from yesterday: how restaurants are turning to Kickstarter get their dreams off the ground.

Obituaries: The Family Circus creator, Bil Keane.